Shrinking a Neighborhood Park

There's a new page in town. The Richardson Independent Facebook Page. It's run by "Lauren Decker; a local, independent journalist residing right here in Richardson." In her first series of articles, she's publishing interviews with the eight contested candidates for Richardson Mayor and City Council. I highly recommend that you, first, read her interviews and, second, follow her page so you don't miss her future work.

One of Decker's questions was, "What is the responsibility of the city council when it comes to ensuring Richardson residents continue to have enough water?" Answers were very revealing about the candidates' attitude towards our neighborhood parks. Let's look at part of mayoral candidate Bob Dubey's answer.

TIL: Gun Violence in the Deep South

Source: Nationhood Lab.

Today I learned something about gun violence. I didn't expect there to be such a marked difference in the rates of gun violence between New York City and the Deep South. And I didn't expect the difference to be in New York City's favor.

What I learned: The death rate from gun violence "varies wildly between regions. Of the larger regions, the Deep South is the most deadly with a smoothed rate of 15.6 per 100,000 residents, followed by Greater Appalachia at 13.5. On the other end of the spectrum, New Netherland – the Dutch-founded area around New York City – has a smoothed rate of just 3.8 per 100,000, a rate less than a quarter that of the Deep South."

The Last of Us (TV 2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Last of Us (TV 2023): Joel and Ellie trek across country in quest to save dying world from pandemic. Story predates COVID-19, but exaggerated parallels are timely. Martial law, freedom-fighters, and zombies. Best part of the show isn't any of that, but the maturing of Ellie. B+

Springs and Dubey File Corrected Finance Reports

Stephen Springs and Bob Dubey filed corrected 30-day campaign finance reports. Spoiler alert: Stephen Springs's update eliminated my question about his. Bob Dubey's correction...didn't.

POTD: Sunset on the Danube

From 2022 07 16 Vienna

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the river Danube as it winds through Slovakia. Downstream from Bratislava, the Danube is dammed, creating a large reservoir. That's where this sunset was photographed. Say goodbye to the Danube. This was our last night sailing on the river. Tomorrow our cruise ends in Budapest.